Pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention in East and Southern Africa

Abstract

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has proven to be highly effective in preventing HIV in uninfected persons when properly adhered to. East and Southern African countries that suffer from high HIV prevalence and incidence are increasingly adopting PrEP as an HIV prevention strategy for their high-risk populations, including for young women. Structural factors such as poverty, lack of education, and gender-based violence may compromise their PrEP uptake and adherence, however. Choice-disabled young women are most at risk of HIV infection and least able to apply HIV prevention choices. For successful rollout of this biomedical solution, we need structural interventions that address these underlying drivers of the HIV epidemic.

Key words

HIV prevention pre-exposure prophylaxis women Africa

Acknowledgements: We thank Neil Andersson for his review of this manuscript.

Funding: RW is funded by the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé (FRQS) and the Lloyd Carr-Harris Foundation; DL is funded by the FRQS.

Mots clés

References

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